Welcome to Week Four of the US/ND On-line Seminar

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Those of you who maintain bookmark entries for
	http://www.info-ren.org/projects/universal-service/this-week.html
may already have seen the notes for this week's activities in
the Universal Service/Network Democracy seminar.

Here is a table of contents:
      	Summary of the Third Week of the Seminar 
      	New Developments in the Seminar 
      	Remaining Topics to Discuss 
      	Aggregation and Competition 
      	Assignments 

Some items which may be of interest include:
	Results of the on-line survey on the scope of Universal Service
		subsidies
	Highlights from discussions in Week Three
	Information on a new survey
	This week's topic

The principal topic for this week's discussion has to do with the
aggregation of services and the role of competition:
	
	+ How can schools and libraries share services with each other and with
	other community groups? 

	+ How can these activities be structured so as to foster competition
	among telecommunications providers? 

Several specific questions are raised in these notes:

	* What examples exist of effective community collaborations? 

	* Does the Telecommunications Act promote such collaborations or 
	endanger them?

	* How can an enhanced competitive environment help schools and 
	libraries? Are there new services likely to result? Is dramatic
	price competition likely to occur? 

	* What structures exist to facilitate needed community collaborations 
	in the development of telecommunications infrastructure? Is this
	activity typically driven by school districts, municipal
	governments, community groups, libraries or other organizations? 

The assignments for the current week continue the pattern established 
last week:

	* Summaries and other library submissions

	* Postings to the on-line discussion

	* New on-line survey on the allocation of Universal Service
	subsidies.

Thanks for your continued participation.

Bob Carlitz
Moderator

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